“Haunting” is new from LA duo Hotel Cinema. Excerpted here from the band’s just released S/T EP (which you can stream in its entirety here), “Haunting” succeeds on its hypnotic slow burning groove and evocative mood and atmosphere, that and a solid vocal performance by singer Keeley Bumford. Cheers to our man Jason Kramer for the tip on the track.
Hotel Cinema – HauntingHotel Cinema 
(Official)
Rating 8.17
MR MS, the NYC-based duo of “Hurricane” fame, announced today their debut LP Second Hand Rapture. The uptempo “Fantasy”, the LP’s new single, has the DNA of indie pop song with the guts and rhythms of soul music. The easy comparison to make with “Fantasy” is to Florence & The Machine; and while the track does walk that “Dog Days Are Over” line a bit, it exudes a certain restraint and steadiness of diction that (somewhat gratefully) sets it apart.
MR MS 
(Official)
Rating 8.1
I recently caught Brooklyn-based, and punk-influenced, Parquet Courts as they stopped by The Echo in Los Angeles last Tuesday night. The band were on the west coast leg of their first national tour in support of their debut album Light Up Gold. That night PC exuded a noteworthy and raw energy, fitting nicely with the likes of Cloud Nothings and Metz. While the set began somewhat on the ragged side with an instrumental jam, things kicked-in full force by the time the band launched into their single “Borrowed Time”. From that point on the show was tight and the musicianship stellar as Parquet Courts blasted through their set of short, well-crafted tunes. Set finale, “Yr No Stoner” surprised me with its approximately 10-minute bluesy jam which showed off another side of the band. These guys can definitely play. Parquet Courts’ onstage vibe is southern in an earthy way.
Highly unassuming, the guys didn’t interact much with each other or with the crowd. They didn’t come off as aloof. It was more like a bunch of guys with integrity who might work at Whole Foods or Google. Guitarist-vocalist Andrew Savage commented that the crowd was very still and he was right. The half-capacity throng was quiet, but this band held their attention and the after-show assessments tended to be very positive. By Bruce Rave
* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
Parquet Courts – Borrowed TimeParquet Courts (Official)
L.A.-based singer-songwriter Brandy St. John a/k/a The Long Wives’ “The Hollow Fin” is brilliant, beautiful, and haunting. A track that with repeated listens seems to only further entrance and captivate. Excellent.
The Long Wives – The Hollow FinThe Long Wives (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.1
UK’s The Leasure Society take a bossa-inspired turn with the lead single from their forthcoming April-due Alone Aboard the Ark LP. The fine amor “The Sober Scent of Paper” is a quite literate song (including a reference to Wuthering Heights and the well constructed meter of phrases like “faithfully facing the warmth of the sun” and “the fever on the quickening brow”) and, in fact, the entire Alone LP is inspired by the life of Sylvia Plath. Give “The Sober Scent of Paper” your ears below.
The Leisure Society – The Sober Scent Of PaperThe Leisure Society 
(Official)
Rating 8.2
Check out the atmospheric dark indie pop of new Brighton band GAPS and their track for “When I’m Gone”. We are into it.
GAPS – When I’m GoneGAPS (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.2
The duo of Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards a/k/a Deap Valley are releasing their debut EP “Get Deap” in April via Cherrytree. “Lies’, the first single for the project, sees the L.A.-based band (and truly, could a band like Deap Valley come from anywhere else?) traverse a familiar territory of high intensity of vocals and riffs that at times sounds like “The Female White Stripes” and at others like all hell is breaking loose. “Lies” is sure to give you its intended ass-kicking but also is hooky enough to keep things interesting and re-listenable.
Deap Vally (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Trophy Wife, whom we’ve covered on b3sci a few times, and who’s track “Wolf” made our Top 50 tracks of 2011 list return with a very good tropically-inclined dancefloor-ready remix of Foals’ great “My Number” single.
Foals – My Number (Trophy Wife Remix)Trophy Wife 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
If Godzilla had Spotify, we’re pretty sure his “Destroy Tokyo Jams” playlist would just feature “R U Ready” 20+ times. It’s that GODZILLA heater.
TNGHT – R U ReadyTNGHT (Facebook)
Rating 8.645
Jacksonville R&B man Robert Raimon Roy (a/k/a Rob Roy) dials up a haunting bit of eerie neo-soul with “Axela” off his Dim Mak LP Le Tigre Blanc.
Robert Raimon Roy – AxelaRobert Raimon Roy 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.0
Our family Zak Waters is back with a new single and video for “Runnin Around”. On the track, Waters earns ample b3 points for “Runnin Around”s immediate hooks and tastefully anthemic chorus. What really knocked out the whole b3 team, though, is “Runnin Around”s awesome (and again tasteful) nods to early 80’s R&B in its instrumentation and feel. Can we really ever get enough lazerblast synth leads.
Zak Waters – Runnin AroundZak Waters (Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Oakland artist Summer Occasion gives Flashlights’ “Scarves” a style of makeover much like his nom de producer would suggest he would; selecting for a most smoothed out mid-July sipping-bellinis-on-a-yacht diced pineapples feel for the mix. Ace.
FLASHLIGHTS- Scarves (Summer Occasion Remix)Summer Occasion (Facebook)
Rating: 8.3
